The entire frum community is abuzz with the publication of Shidduch Dating Kehilchoso, which is sure to be an instant classic. The sefer is a must for everyone, and it is hard to imagine how people have been going out on shidduch dates all this time without it!
For the first time, the halachos related to shidduch dating have been collected in one easy-to-use reference guide that has been dumbed down enough that no education or literary skills are required to understand it, yet has enough long, winding, and cryptic footnotes to impress scholar-type wannabes.
"The publication of a compendium of halachos related to shidduch dating is long overdue," said author HaRav HaGaon Yoizel Nahrishkeit, Shlita, etc.
HaRav Nahrishkeit was careful to note that even though the book was produced under the auspices of Da'as Torah and careful reasearch, he recommends that no one make any actual decisions based on the contents, but to ask a shayla from an approved bearer of Da'as Torah no matter how clear the matter might seem. The sefer is intended purely for reference purposes.
This monumental work is particularly impressive since these halachos have few clear written sources and stem mostly from loose extrapolations, oral traditions, and Da'as Torah transmissions in recent times. It is almost as if this sefer was given to Klal Yisrael at Har Sinar, then hidden from us for thousands of years until it could be rediscovered.
The book is divided into 18 chapters, which guide boys and girls through the parsha from the mother's first phone call to a shadchan to the nervous period of engagment after the third date. The entire script is carefully outlined so readers can learn how to fit in quietly and avoid the pitfalls of appearing "different", not as frum as everyone else, or, heaven forbid, modern. Chapters include:
"Before the First Phone Call to a Shadchan"
"After the First Phone Call to a Shadchan"
"The Weeks of Phone Tag"
"Research and Investigation"
"Appearing Frum Enough"
"How Many Years in Kollel? (hint: forever!)"
"How to Maximize Your Leverage and Not Appear Desperate"
"Should You Actually Agree to Meet this Person?"
"How to Dress"
"What to Talk About"
"Approved Hotel Lobbies"
"When and How to End the First Date"
"Following Up After the First Date"
"Should There be a Second Date?"
"Should There be a Third Date?"
"Engagement - Mazal Tov!"
"Marriage"
"How to Best Separate Singles at the Wedding and Beyond"
Shidduch Dating Kehilchoso carries the haskama of all the gedolim.